Handguns, such as revolvers and pistols, which are carried in holsters, must be removable therefrom with all feasible speed in order to provide timely and effective use of the handgun together with security of the user, in emergency situation. This is particularly true when a law enforcement officer is the user of the weapon and the weapon normally is not drawn unless an emergency situation is encountered. For comfort and convenience, it is desirable that the holster be worn high on the hip, yet such a position makes normal holsters awkward to use, as it is difficult for the user to pull the weapon upwardly out of the holster. Therefore, front opening holsters have been developed which allow the user to wear his holster high on the hip with the barrel pointed downward and yet allow him to remove the weapon while in sitting or standing positions, with speed and safety. When carrying an exposed weapon near other persons, the user of such holsters also has been particularly vulnerable to losing control of the weapon to someone behind him.
There have been numerous past attempts to provide suitable holsters, and certain of these providing a forward-draw capability. U.S. Pat. No. 2,347,006 to TIBBETS and U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,420 to BIANCHI are typical examples, with TIBBETS providing a pivot between the barrel and the trigger guard, thereby enabling an unauthorized user to gain access to the trigger while the weapon is in the holster, and BIANCHI requiring trigger-first removal of the weapon, which slows down the draw, because this requires rotation first in one direction followed by reversal of rotation in the opposite direction to bring the barrel to the usual horizontal orientation or a line of fire.